Bowling game comprising automatic means for setting up and separating the bowling elements



Jan. 24, 1950 E. w. PECK 2,495,473

BOWLING GAME COMPRISING AUTOMATIC MEANS FOR SETTING UP AND SEPARATING THE BOWLING ELEMENTS Filed Jan. 9, 1945 5' Sheets-Sheet l 8 a W x 1. J I: v\ i k I Q E Q 'lNVENTOR ATTORNEYS,

Jan. 24, 1950 E. w. PECK 2,495,473

BOWLING GAME COMPRISING AUTOMATIC MEANS FOR SETTING ING THE BOWLING ELEME NTS UP AND SEPARAT Filed Jan. 9, 1945 M RNEY5.

'3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTO 2,495,473 0 MEANS FOR SETTING E BOWLING E. W. PECK COMPRISING AUTOMAEI SEPARATING TH Jan. 24, 1950 BOWLING GAME UP AND ELEMENT V 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 9, 1945 INVENTO Patented Jan. 24, 1950 5 UN [TED EN T O F F 1 CE gigame,:-and-has. not this character WEE GOMPB ISING AUTOMATIC MEANS FOR SETTING'UP' AND SEPARAT- z'f' 'lNG B'OWEING ELEMENTS ij'Elliott'iW. -Pck,'St1:atf0rd, Conn. stflpplication ilanuary 9, 1945 ,'-'S'eria1 Noi 572,03.6

9 Claims. 1

toanautoma-tidbewling w-from the playing .endeorjthe bowling position; so

.. thatzall-f:.the;operations:oficlearing any 131112133115 :left a in positiom :after;v .sbeen played. from: the

.=of pin :balls. :for;

- threetbowling ---balls -have board;-.;and the setting. up

bowling the. next box, may (be performed from the: bowling end. opposition. 1 It is .also. -an object: --to eprovidev a constructioneand saprangementrin which theibowlingballs are auto- :matically;-.separated r-fromtthe .pin-. balls and "returned .to the .playing end, .and riurthermorevto geprovide a' construction the balls are all and arrangement in which automatically. and properly.dis-.

. tributedwithout-danger,of-rtheipjamming. .-.Itis n a further 'objecttq.

arrangement whereby buting 'thespin balls bringing-ethem.

ting; position. and. arranging :the lmechanism so i ,provide a construction and thezyoperations oi distrito; the; spotthat. they are held-in the proper spotted position,

:are all done with a single at the playing -.endor:

With the foregoing I havedevised the construction.Qillustratedfin the SOPELatiOH by.-.=the.player position. and other-:gbjeetsimview accompanying drawings forming. a .part- ,of this .:specification. It s is,

however, to; be...understo'od the invention isinotlirnited .to the,specific. details v..of construction.and a'rrangement shown,

.ernbody. various changes .and

. in. the .scopeofthe -.:in

.i In these. drawings:

buts-may vention.

(Big. 1 is a top...p1an-.-v1ew..ot thendevicemwith ,parts broken awayto more,

lstruction;

L Fig. 2'is a clearly show the, coniparitialLside .view and .partial longi- ..tudinal section; the sectionbeing substantialiyon Lline 2-.2 .of Fig. 1;

. Fig. 3.is adetailed fpit;

;. Fig.- 4. is a longitudinal.

section. of..one. side of .the

sectioniof the. pitend of. the device on allarger .scale .and substantially Fig. 5.-is a,transverse section substantially-0n jr line 5+5 of l, .and

I' Fig. 6. is a. bottom .plan

v the. device.

lview. .'oi the.'.pit end..of

apparatus. is .no'tlimit'e dto home use onto aport- 'able device, but is equally applicable toifull'lsized -layoutsoralleys. The

dexziceillustrated,isi shown for six pin balls ;to. takelthe place .of .Lthehusual wooden .but foil course it may be 'madeto. spot ten pin balls tosiniula te' the regular or standard :zlargerheavier balls modifications with (Cla"273-?41) 2 -zbowling. game,;rasa desired, although in: such an J. arrangement'the device would-be made somewhat .largeraahdboth Wider and-longer; Itccomprises a trough-shaped body portion H! comprisingthe alley"withslongitudinal side members i [extending :1 above-.therbottomvll At the pit-endthese-sides may be made higher as shown at Ila to prevent thflbfiUSjlll'l'lPl-IIQ off the board. In-the model ."ShOWl'l a pair of longitudinal gutters arenot :pro- '1 :videdat the oppositesides of the alley portion 1 2, as used in the standard full-sized alleys; but such mgutters may be "provided if desired. Instead of using woodenpins; small pin balls it are used as u'they; are easier-to handle automaticallw while 14 are used for the bowling :z-abal1s;'.:and these may be: made of steelntogive iI greater weight.

1A1 the pit endis a plate it on the level'with .ythetop ofthe bottom 120i: the alley,- and form- :zing an. extension thereofldbut its rear vedge--16. is --'spaced-from therear wall -l'l to form the pit. -1. .This plate, is also inclined downwardly somewhat ?-'jto.\zv.ard the rear, so'that any pin balls-l3 displaced .sfromratheirzspottedmosition will rollintothe pit.

.25t-The' bottom wall=13--of-the pit-.is inclined later- :1.-a11y;;asshown in Fig: 5, sothat the ballsas they ;=fa1l-.=into the:ipit-arundaterallyto one side into, a trough or runway A99 This trough is formed by saspacedupright side plates 2!? for separating the pin balls .ISirom-thebowling balls HL- For this ::purpose the-plates are spaced somewhat wider ithansthe diameter of the balls 13 so-that these wiballs will ialldown into the trough, as shown in 5,- but-are spaced less than the; diameter -lof the large'or-bowling' balls 1 so that these iii-balls, insteadof jiallingr into the.-trough,-are--re- .utained zonthe-top edges of the plates N :as indie'oated.

. The plate i5'isprovided with a series otopenings at the spotting positions into which .p-:o- Mi-sleet the upper ends of aseries of metal tubes 2 l, :110I1e.--fO1"aCh spot .or pin ball, and these tubes are:inser-ted and supported in a transverse: wall .--2Z,,spaced= below the plate 15. Mounted in each ..of the tubes 21 is a'cylindrical pinor pltmgeniit 45.- which, may; be made of wood and r-eELchuhas. a ....shal1ow-.-recess 24 in its upper. end. At 1 their .elower ends these-plu-ngers rest on a vertically .zJnovable triangular-plate =25and the,.-plungers semayqbeasecured to this. plate bynany suitable :,means,.sueh asthe screws This late in turn :eiscmountedon a post k2! .slidable vertically and ,..guided. ina. transverse. bar ,Ztspaced .beiowvthe WalLJZi! and. mounted on downwardly .ex- ,tendingsideWalls 29.1 This postfilhasan enlarged head 36 on which 'the'pla'te 25 is mounted,

and this head is provided with a transverse opening into which projects the end of the arm 3| of a lever pivoted at 32 in a block 33, the opening being suificiently larger than the arm to permit the arm to rock on up and down movements of the post. On the opposite side of the block 33 the lever has another arm 54 extending between two stops or blocks 35 and 36 adjustably mounted on the longitudinally extending rod 31. These blocks may be adjusted to any desired position and secured therein by any suitable means, such for example as the set screws 38. This rod 37 extends below the bottom wall of the alley to the front or playing end of the device, where it is pivotally connected at 39 to a lever 40 pivotally mounted at M on any suitable support, such as a block 42, and this lever has a hand grip 43 for operating it.

By swinging the hand grip upwardly and to the right, as shown in Fig. l, the rod 31 is shifted to the right for a purpose presently to be described. When swung to the position of Figs. 1 and 2, the pivotal connection 39 of the rod 31 swings across the center line 44- of the pivot 4| for the lever so as to form a sort of toggle coacting with stop 45 to retain the lever and the rod in this position against pressure of the rod to the right, and movement of the lever 46 further beyond this center line may be limited by suitable stop means on the lever, such, for example, as the stop 45, engaging the side of the rod. When the lever is swung upwardly and to the right to shift the rod 37 to the right, it will cause the arm 3| and the post 27 to drop, this being assured by stop block 35 engaging lever arm 34, thus permitting the wooden plungers carried by the plate 25 to drop in the tubes 2!, so that the tops of these plungers are on a level with the top of the wall 22, as shown in dotted lines Fig. 4. Each tube 2! has an opening 46 in its side wall facing the front for entrance of a pin ball 13 into the tube to rest on top of the plunger 23 therein when this plunge is in its lower position, as indicated in dotted lines Fig. 4,

so that when the plungers 23 are raised to the full line position, these pin balls [3 will also be raised to the proper spotted position above the plate i5, as shown in full lines.

Pivoted at the front of the lower wall 22 at 4? is a distributer 48 curved upwardly at its free edge to form alining-up trough or cradle 49. When the plungers 23 are in their raised or bowling position, this distributer 48 is in its lower or full line position, as shown in Fig. 4,. and one end of the trough 49 is in alignment with an opening (Fig. 2) in the side of the runway trough 19. Just forwardly of this opening 55 is an in clined or curved stop wall Si in this runway trough, so that the pin balls !3 running down the trough or runway will be deflected laterally by this stop wall through the opening 55 into the trough or cradle-49 in the distributer and will line up in this distributer as shown in Fig. 1. To insure this, the trough or cradle 49 is inclined downwardly and the distributer is tapered, as indicated in Fig. 1, and narrow plates 52 are provided on the upper side of the distributer to provide guideways 53 in front of each ball leading to the top of the wall 22. Mounted on this wall 22 is a plate or series of plates 54 forming runways 55, one in alignment with each of the runways 53, and leading to the forward side of each of the tubes 2! under the openings 46 in the side walls thereof, so that when the free or trough end of the distributer 45 is raised f bowler..

to the upper or dotted line position of Fig. 4, these pin balls l3 lined up in it will each run down one of the guideways 53, 55 and will pass through the opening in one of the tubes 2| to rest on the top of the wooden plunger 23 in this tube, as shown in dotted lines Fig. 4. This distributer 48 is raised to this position when the rod 31 is shifted to the right to lower the plungers 23 in the tubes 2|. For this purpose a finger 56 is provided on the distributer 48 resting against a stop block 51 adjustably secured on the rod 3! by any suitable means, such as a set screw 58. When this rod 31 is shifted to the right to lower the plungers 23, this stop 5! pushes on the finger 56 and raises the distributer 48 with trough 49 to the dotted line position, as shown in Fig. 4, and holds it in this position to permit the balls l3 to roll from the distributor through the guides 53 and 55 to their respective positions in the tubes 2| and seat in the shallow recesses in the top ends of the plungers 23. The trough or cradle 49 in the distributer is of proper length so that the balls line up in front of the guideways 53, so that, when the distributer is raised, one ball only will run down each guideway 53 and its continuation 55 to a single tube 2!, but it will also insure that there are a sufficient number of balls lined up in the distributer to insure that a ball will roll to each of the tubes 2| when the distributer is raised, to insure that there is a ball on each of the spots. The trough or cradle 49 is inclineddownwardly from the entrance end next to the runway [9 so that all of the six or ten balls, whichever it happens to be, are lined up in the distributor. The operator now, by swinging the lever 45 outwardly and to the left as viewed in Fig. 1 to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, will force the rod 37 rearwardly or to the left as viewed in these figures. This will shift the stop block 36 to the left, as viewed in Fig. 4, swinging the lever 34, 3! to raise the arm 3| and with it the plate 25 and the plungers 23 to lift them to the full line position of Fig. 4, and raise the pin balls l3 which have been deposited on these plungers to the spotting position at the top of the plate IS. The elements are now in position and the pin balls spotted for the bowling operation.

Beyond the stop wall 5| in the trough l9, this trough or runway is continued as a shallow runway 59 to the forward end of the device and it is carried through the front support 60 in position to carry the bowling balls l4 to a position where they may be readily accessible to the Suitable means ma be provided to retain these balls in the end portion of the runway, such, for example, as a fiat retaining spring '6! located over the top of the runway to prevent the balls rolling oh the end of the runway, but will readily yield to permit the player to withdraw a ball from the runway for a bowling operation. In bowling, the player may roll the balls down the alley l2 in the usual manner, or a shooter 62 may be used if desired. The shooter shown comprises a triangular shaped block which may be placed on edge on the alley, and its upper side is provided with a curved groove 63 down which the bowling balls 14 ma be allowed to roll onto the alley. This gives momentum and direction to the balls, and by placing the shooter as desired the balls may be aimed at any position on the alley.

Means is provided for removing from the spotted position on the plungers 23 any pin balls which may not have been displaced by the bowling balls in bowling a box of ztwoor threeballs. This comprises a wire finger 64. normally out. of the-way=in a recess-65 inone-of the side walls. of the: alley, and pivoted at 66 so thatithe finger can swing out over the top ofthe plate l5, as in.- dicated in dotted lines in Fig. '1, and sweepany balls which may be left on the spotted positions intol-the pit where they will roll down the in.- clined bottom wall 18' intothe trough or runway l9; This'finger' it is operated to perform:;this operation by-means of a rod 61 extending under th'e bottom wall E2 to the frontend: of the alley where it passes through the forward support-B0, and-is provided with an operating hand knob 68'. A spring 69'tends to shift this rod to theright, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and return the. finger 64 to and retain it in the l'ecess 55, and inthe re+ tracted position... vAt its rear end this .rod i'spiv otallyconnected at 10 to .an arm H connected with thefinger 64', so'thatpushing of the hand knob-68 andthe rod 61 'rearwardly, or.to' the left asviewed inFigs. 1 and 2, will swing the finger -64 across over the top of the plate I5to" sweep any balls into the pit, and then. it will be returned to its :normal position in recess 65 by the action of the spring 69. 7

Adjustable supportsor legs are provided -for the rear .end portion. of the device so that the device may be properly levelled in setting up for the bowling operation. In the arrangement shown these compriseblocks 12 forming .feet threaded on studs .13 which are in turn threaded intouthe lower sidewalls of the device. By' rotating these blocks the'height of these supports mayxbe adjusted to level upthe alley. A level, pendulum or some other device may be mounted onthis apparatus to indicatewhen it is level.v

To secure the plate l5'in position it may-be provided on the underside adjacent its forward :end withan L-shaped bar 14 adapted-to engage under the overhanging upper flange of anangle member 15, as shown in Figs.- 2 and l. The plate itself may restupon upright side plates '16 and I1 andv be supported atthe proper position thereon. The plate I5 is preferably inclined somewhattoWerd the rear so that any pin ball l3 displacedirom its spotted positionwill rollofi the plate intothe pit. .The plate Himaybe removed by merely lifting its rear end and withdrawing thefrontsecuringmember I4 fromthe member 15.1.

It.wi1l..be understood. from ,the above that. the

' device may be operated entirely fromthe bowling end,.and it is therefore not. necessary to have a separate person to set up the pin ballsfor torreturn the bowling balls to this end, nor is it necessary for the player to keep going to the rear end to. performthese operations. If the proper number .of pin balls'are placed in the pit when the lever 40 is swung'rearwardly to the left, or the full line position of Figs. 1 and 2,'these balls willv run down the trough .or runway l9 andthroughjthe opening 50 in the inner side wall thereof into the trough or cradle 49"in the distributor. 48, and will line up therein, as shown in Fig. l. The operator now, by swinging the lever 4!] outwardly and forwardly, as indicated by the arrow 18, Fig. 1, will shift therod 31' forwardly, causingthe plate and the plungers 23 to be lowered; bringing the upper ends of the plungers on a level with the runways BS-leadingto the respective tubes 2!. At' the same timethe block 51=carried by therod 31 acting against the finger 56 will lift the distributer 48 to the dotted line position-ofFig. 4, carrying with it the-pin balls l3 whichhave-been lined "upin r the trough 49 ofthis distributor.

These ballsi now rollrdovm; thevrespective' guides 53 to "the runwaysr 55 andz 1nto ztheirarespective tubes- 2 l where-theyz-seat in" the shallow recesses in the ends ofthe-plungersfi. I The operator now swings-"levers 4B outwardly and baclrwardly to the position :of Figs.::1 and 2; This; byshifting the rod=3l rearwardly, and-with it the'block 3'6, operates the lever arm-Sl te lift'the plate'25'and the -plungersw23 carried.therebyzto the full line positionzofi Fig. 4, carrying-with them the pin balls l3-which tare now atth'e level=of theito of-the plate I 1 5 and in. the" proper spotted position for the bowling .operationq- Thus thetfunctions" of raising 'the: balls' to .the spotting position 1 and holding them in this position are performed-by e simple operation. As the'rod 31 was shifted rearwardly, it carried with it the block 51, which-permitted' the distributer dd to again drop to the full line position of Fig. 4,-in .positionrxtcreceive the pin :balls as they are displaced fromtheir spotted positions =by 'the:bow1ing balls into:.the pit, from which they rollinto' the trough l9 and back. into tor and when in their positions lined up within this distributer 48. Any pin: balls not. displaced fromthe spottingpo sitions after: bowling .the proper number. of: balls for eachbox, are; swept. into thepit by.merely pushing inwardly ontheknob .68 to swing the fin ger 64 acrossrthetopzof the plate. l5. Itwill be seenntheseoperations .of! clearing. the board and 're-setting or spotting .the pin balls may be easily and. quickly. performed, .and no. other; operations are requiredin spottingthe balls... Aslthe trough l9-is :open throughout the :length of. the pit,.there is .no'. danger. of the balls becoming jammed, ."but they all readily roll to their ipropenpositions, the pin balls going into the .distributer- 48 for. thesetting-up. ;or spotting; operation, .and. the bowling balls r-running alongtherunwayfie-to a position attheforward. endiof. the alley where they. are easily accessible :to' the player...

Hayingrthusrset. forth the nature. of my inventiornwhatxI claim is:

1...A howling gamecomprisingan alley, a stationary plate forming an extension of therear endcof the -alleyand providedzwi-th Lopenings at the pin spotting positions, vertically; movable pluhgers under the plate each adapted to raise a pin ballthr ough' one of said openings and hold itin playing. position above the platega pit at :the rear of the plate to receive displaced balls,

means for raising and lowering the plungers .including a lover, a rod connected with thelever and extending'to the :forward end of the alley, a hand-leverat said forward end to shift the rod to -raise-and -lower -the :plu'ngers, a separating means"arranged to' r'eceiveth'e balls from the pit and separate the pin balls and bowling balls", a pivoted distributer arranged when-in-a lower positiontoreceivethepin balls from the separaits upper position-to direct them to positions-on respective plungers when the plungers are lowered, 'and cooperating means on the rod 'and- 'distributertoraise" the distributer when the-rodis shifted to lower the plungers;

2. A bowling gamecomprisingan 'alley'including *a stationary plate at its rear end provided with *openings" at the-pin spotting positions,- a p-itatthe rear of 'the plate,a movable assembly comprising a plurality of -'vertically movable plungersmovable in stationary guides 'to spotting positionsin said openings when in their upper positions; stationary mountingmeansfor said-as sembly,

a troughgat one'side'of the pit comprispin balls fromlarger inclined bot.

ing' means-for separating bowling balls, said pit including antom wall to direct the balls to said trough, ,a second assembly comprising a distributer, means mounting the distributer for movement between lowered and raised positions relative to the first assembly, said distributer having a cradle forming means for aligning a plurality of pin balls, means for passing the pin balls from the trough to the aligning means, stationary guides extending from the distributer to the plungers for directing the balls in the distributer to the respective plungers when the plungers are in their lower positions and the distributer is raised, and means operable at the front end of the alley for lowering the plungers and raising the distributer relative to said stationary mounting means and then raising the plungers to spotting position and lowering the distributer.

3. A bowling game comprising an alley including a stationary plate at its rear end provided with openings at the pin, spotting positions, a pit at the rear of the plate, two movable assemblies, the first of which comprises a plurality of vertically movable plungers movable in stationary guides to spotting positions in said openings when in their upper positions, stationary means mounting said assemblies, means at one side of the pit for separating pin balls from larger bowling balls, said pit including an inclined bottom wall to direct the balls to said separating means,

the second movable assembly comprising a distributer hinged for up and down movements at one side of the plungers and including a cradle when in its lower position located to receive and line up the pin balls from the separating means, stationary runways for guiding the individual pin balls from the distributer to the respective plungers when the plungers are in their lower positions, and means operable at the forward end of the alley for lowering the plungers and raising the distributer relative toisaid stationary mounting means to permit the balls to run from the distributer to positions on the plungers and then to raise the plungers to bring the balls to playing positions and to lower the distributer.

4. A bowling game comprising an alley including a stationary plate at the rear end thereof provided with openings at the pin spotting positions and with a pit at the rear of said plate provided with an inclined bottom wall, means at the lower side of said wall for receiving balls from the pit and separating pin balls from larger bowling balls, two movable assemblies, the first of which comprises a plurality of vertically movable plungers movable to spotting positions in said openings when in their upper positions, the second movable assembly comprising a distributer including a trough hinged for up and down movements at one side of the plungers and adapted when in its lower position to receive pin balls from the separating means, stationary means mounting said assemblies, a stationary runway extending from the distributer to each plunger, saiddistributer including means to distribute a single ball only to each runway when in its upper position, and means operable at the forward end of the alley to lower the plungers and raise the distributer relative to said stationary mounting means to cause the balls to roll along the runways to the respective plungers and then to raise the plungers to carry the balls to their playing positions.

5. A bowling game comprising an alley with a stationary plate at its rear end forming an extension of the alley and provided with openings at the pin spotting positions, a pit at the rear of said'plate, a separating means arranged to receive balls from the pit and separate the pin balls and larger bowling balls, said pit being formed to direct the balls to said separating means, a stationary wall spaced below the plate, upright stationary tubes extending between the wall and plate in alignment with the openings in the plate and provided with entrance openings in their side walls above said wall, a movable assembly comprising plungers mounted one in each tube and each movable between an upper position with its upper end in an opening in the plate and a lower position with its upper end below the opening in the tube, a second movable assembly comprising a movable distributer at one side of the tubes movable up and down relatively thereto and including means when in its lower position to receive the pin balls from the separating means and when in its upper position to cause the balls to roll therefrom, stationary runways on the wall extending from the distributer to the openings in the tubes, said distributer including means to cause a single ball only to roll into each runway, and means for loweringothe plungers and raising the distributer relative to said wall and plate to cause the balls to roll from the distributer to positions on the respective plungers in the tubes and then to raise the plungers to bring the balls to their playing positions at the top of the plate.

6. A bowling game comprising an alley, a stationary plate forming an extension of the alley at the rear end thereof and provided with openings at the pin spotting positions, a stationary wall spaced below the plate, a pit to the rear of the plate, stationary upright tubes extending between the wall and plate in alignment with said openings and each provided with an entrance opening in its side wall between the wall and plate, stationary runways on the wall leading one to each entrance opening, a vertically movable assembly comprising a plunger mounted in each tube and movable between an upper position with its upper end in the corresponding plate opening and a lower position with its upper end below the tube opening, a second movable assembly comprising a pivoted distributer at one side of the tubes and movable independently thereof, said distributer adapted when in an upper position to direct a pin ball to each runway, a separator at one side of the pit to receive the balls therefrom and adapted to separate the pin balls and larger rolling balls and direct the pin balls to the distributer, and means operable at the forward end of the alley to lower the plungers and raise the distributer relative to said tubes and runways to seat pin balls on the plungers and then to raise the plungers to locate the balls in their playing positions at the top'of the plate.

7. A bowling game comprising an alley, a stationary plate forming an extension of the rear end of the alley and provided with openings at the pin spotting positions, movable plungers under the plate, stationary means guiding the plungers for up and down movement only and each plunger adapted to raise a pin ball through one of said openings and hold it in playing position above the plate, a pit at the rear of the plate to receive displaced balls, a separating means arranged to receive balls from the pit and separate the pin balls from larger rolling balls, a distributing means mounted for up and down movement independently of the plunger guiding means and arranged to receive pinballs from the separating means when in its lower position, means for raising and lowering the distributer, stationary guide means arranged to receive the balls from the distributing means and direct them one to each plunger when the distributer is in its upper position and when the plungers are in their lower positions, and means operable from the forward end of the alley to raise the plungers and balls to position the balls in their playing positions.

8. A bowling game comprising an alley, a stationary plate at the rear end of the alley provided with openings at the pin spotting positions, a stationary pit at the rear of the plate to receive displaced balls, a stationary separating means arranged to receive balls from the pit and separate the pin balls from the larger bowling balls, said pit being formed to direct the balls to the separating means, a runway adapted to receive the bowling balls from the separating means and extending to a position at the forward end of the alley to carry the balls to said end, a distributing means arranged to receive the pin balls from the separating means and position them one under each opening, comprising stationary upright guides, movable ball supporting plungers in said guides, a distributer mounted to move relative to said guides to receive pin balls from the separating means and direct them one to each guide and onto the plunger therein, and means operable from the forward end of the alley to raise the plungers to pass the pin balls through said openings and retain them in their playing positions at the top of the plate.

9. A bowling gamecomprising an alley, a stationary plate forming an extension of the rear end of the alley and provided with openings at 10 the pin spotting positions, a movable assembly comprising vertically movable plungers under the plate each adapted to raise a pin ball through one of said openings and hold it in playing position above the plate, stationary guides for said plungers, a stationary pit at the rear of the plate to receive displaced balls, means for raising and lowering the plungers in said stationary guides, means at the forward end of the alley for controlling said first means, a separating means arranged to receive the balls from the pit and separate the pin balls and larger bowling balls, a second movable assembly comprising a pivoted distributer mounted for up and down movement relative to said guides and arranged when in a lower position to receive the pin balls from the separator, stationary guide means between the distributer and guides arranged to receive the balls from said distributer when in its upper position and to direct them to positions on respective plungers when the plungers are lowered, and means cooperating with the plunger operating means to raise the distributer when the plungers are lowered to cause the balls to move from the distributer to the plungers.

ELLIOTT W. PECK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 693,382 Downey Feb. 18, 1902 904,400 Brenneman Nov. 1'7, 1908 1,806,274 Williams May 19, 1931 2,248,316 Weber July 8, 1941 

